Safe in Russia?

Is it safe to visit Russia? What are their attitudes toward Americans? Most of what we see is just Vladimir Putin putting on manly-man shows, but is there a general anti-US sentiment, or is that leftover propaganda from the cold war?

Comments

Hallo! It is safety in Russia, but of`course it depands on places, which you are planning to visit. If it will be big cities, like Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan and others, don`t worry, everything will be ok. There is no propaganda against USA. Quite the contrary, now there are very good relationships between russians and americans. As in all countries I offer you to visit places of tourists interests and not to walk alone in outskirts.
Welcome to Russia,
NORD Travel

I agree. One should bother about language (most of russians do not speak english) not about safety. Ofcourse if you are looking for a trouble you would certainly find one. On the other hand if you want to see Russia you can always look here: http://www.russiamoscow.org

It is definitely safe to visit Russia; though, you should be wary of the kind of petty theft prevalent in tourist destinations, as well as common extortion scams. In Central Moscow on numerous occassions I have seen the 'Turkey Drop', a scam in which a tourist will spot a big wad of cash rolled up on the ground, big it up, and then quickly and aggressively be approached by big Russian men who insist that you've stolen their money. Many tourists make the mistake of taking out their wallet, to show that they haven't taken the money, and this is when the thieves will demand that you hand it over to them.

As a general rule, don't ever remove your wallet or identification (passport) in Russia on the street unless asked to do so by an authority source that's shown your their accreditation.

We are visiting St Petersburg for 2 days on cruise ship in May. We understand that Visa is not required for a cruise ship excursion however we want to go out one day on our own. Know that we will need a Visa. Everything says that you must be sponsored by a Russian business. Who can we get a sponshorship letter from if we are on a cruise ship? Thank you.